Jackie Lacey Takes Fundraising Lead in Campaign for District Attorney

Jackie Lacey has taken a solid lead in fundraising in the closing stretch of the campaign for L.A. County District Attorney.

In filings posted this afternoon, Lacey reports raising $565,000 over the last three months. Her opponent, prosecutor Alan Jackson, reported $180,000.

Lacey, the chief deputy D.A., had struggled to raise money before her surprising first-place finish in the June primary. But nothing succeeds like success, and she has now claimed the mantle of the frontrunner.

She also leads in cash in the bank, with $336,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, to Jackson's $193,000.

That's a reversal from the previous fundraising period, when Jackson -- the second-place finisher in the primary -- grabbed the contribution advantage. In the six weeks before June 30, Jackson raised $386,000, far outpacing Lacey's $71,000.

Parke Skelton, Lacey's consultant, said that she had been doing "nonstop events" -- about 20 in August and September.

Lacey's campaign also has claimed an "insurmountable" lead in its own polling. The Jackson campaign has vowed to attack Lacey in the final month over her contradictory testimony in a union dispute. But while the Jackson camp has said it intends to run TV spots, it seems that it will have limited funds to pursue that strategy.

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